A need exists for a flexible impact blade, a flexible impact blade with such a drive device and a watercraft with a drive element and/or a control element.
The drive device for a flexible impact blade is configured on a side such that the same can be connected to a drive, and has a flexible element substantially in the shape of a wedge, said flexible element having at least two flexible sections extending away from the drive that are at a distance to each other on the side of the drive, the distance from each of which is reduced in the direction away from the drive and which are coupled in the region of the end of the flexible element facing away from the drive in a power transmitting manner.
The invention furthermore relates to a flexible impact blade that can elastically and three-dimensionally deform, whereby a continuous change of shape can be adjusted with a flowing contour transition.
In several aspects, the invention was inspired by observations of bird flight and the underwater “flight” of penguins, sea turtles and manta rays, which have interesting flight or swimming characteristics and to some extent extraordinary manoeuvring skills, which have so far evaded replication in this form by the comparably rigid systems normally used in technology.
The invention rises from the wish to create a technical solution that comes closer to the behaviour of paradigms in nature (particularly the manta wings) as far as movement kinematics and flow dynamics are concerned and—without wanting to copy the biology in detail—that can be implemented in the simplest possible way with the means and materials available in technology.
Designs in which remarkable characteristics are achieved in the interaction of flexible composites with the surroundings are known in the state of the art, e.g., under the brand name Fin Ray Effect®, and comprise, e.g., toothbrushes, lever constructions, pliers, swimming flippers, etc. What these have in common with other equally known profile elements for sails and airplane wings is that they passively deform under the effect of an extendal force in a manner that is advantageous for the application in question.
Some designs can be tilted or pivoted around an axis of rotation at the base or can, e.g., in the case of a chair back, also be tensed in a manner that changes the shape.
In AU 6563380 A (MC Kinlay I. B.), a rudder structure is described that is held on an axle and that has an adjustable profile form in the cross-sectional plane.
Additionally known are profile elements, especially for ship's sails (LU 88 528 A., Thirkell Laurent) and aerofoils (EP 0 860 355 A1, Flavio Campanile), with a flexible outer skin and internally placed spacers, that are held to length or laterally curved by a bending-resistant middle part, as well as blade ribs with a closed—and consequently constant-length—bendable outer belt, whose curvature can be varied with respect to the outer belt to a limited extent via an active change of the angle of inclination of internal stiffening elements. In the aforementioned cases, the variation aims at influencing the profile geometry in the flow direction; the blade geometry in the mast or blade span direction is not addressed.
A need has existed for an invention that by simple structural measures, provides an elastically bendable blade as well as a drive device for such a blade, which can deform in a plurality of directions and in which a continuous change of shape with flowing contour transitions can be adjusted, so that this can be used, e.g., in the flow dynamics application for control functions or also for propulsion generation, whereby other application functions are to be made possible with regard to use in the broader sense.
Another need has existed for a combination of two or more blades into a system for generating a cross-fluid force, propulsion and/or lift/buoyancy, for example, into a watercraft according to a type of “bionic flying wing”, that can execute complex flight manoeuvres with ray-like manoeuvrability.
A need has existed for a highly flexible blade, and in particular a drive device and the parts of its skeleton, that are as flexible as possible, whereby the parts are connected in a soft and jointed manner, while a high level of structural stability is nevertheless achieved.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.